Gingerbread Pudding Cake

Run, run as fast as you can!
You can't catch me. I'm the Gingerbread Man!

Ever wonder why we had nursery rhymes of runaway food? Food was (and still is) a main topic of families through the ages. In olden times most of the family's time and effort was spent hunting, gathering, preserving, and preparing food. No McDonalds down the street to pick up a Happy Meal from for that family.
Gingerbread became a popular flavor in early days. From it's humble history to today's overpriced latte, it is associated with holiday foods.
Gingerbread was a favorite treat at festivals and fairs in medieval Europe—often shaped and decorated to look like flowers, birds, animals or even armor—and several cities in France and England hosted regular "gingerbread fairs" for centuries. Ladies often gave their favorite knights a piece of gingerbread for good luck in a tournament, or superstitiously ate a "gingerbread husband" to improve their chances of landing the real thing. 
The sweet flavored cake-like treat is usually sweetened with molasses or honey rather than sugar. It is also characterized with flavors of ginger, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, cardamon and anise. It can be soft like a cake or harder like a biscuit and sturdy enough for making gingerbread houses. 

We tried a new gingerbread recipe for a ranch meeting last week. I was hoping for a similar dessert to the molten chocolate cake we enjoy for Valentines Day (blog of Feb. 15, 2012) and it didn't disappoint. Spicy and moist, this will be a favorite. Its even better with a scoop of vanilla ice cream served over the top. Thanks to King Arthur Flour for the recipe.

Delicious warm with a scoop of ice cream!

Gingerbread Pudding Cake 

Cake:

1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour

¾ teaspoon baking soda

¾ teaspoon ground ginger

½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

⅛ teaspoon ground nutmeg

¼ teaspoon salt

½ cup molasses

½ cup milk

1 large egg

¼ cup unsalted butter, at room temperature

¼ cup granulated sugar

Pudding:

1 cup light brown sugar

4 teaspoons cornstarch

1 ¼ cup unsalted butter

Directions:

1.     Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter an 8” square pan, or eight 8-oz ramekins.

2.     For the cake: Combine the flour, baking soda, ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt in a medium bowl. Set aside.

3.     In a small bowl mix the molasses, milk, and egg. Set aside.

4.     In a mixing bowl, cream the butter and sugar together. Add the flour and molasses mixtures by turns, beating on low speed, just until blended. Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed.

5.     Pour the batter into the prepared pan. If using ramekins, place them on a parchment-lined baking sheet and portion a heaping ¼-cup of batter into each one.

Cake batter in ramekins and pudding mixture on the left.
As you can see, I didn't have enough ramekins for all, so
we have some ramekins and a small baking dish. 

6.     For the pudding: Mix the brown sugar and cornstarch together. Heat the water and butter together just until the butter melts; gradually stir this into the brown sugar mixture.

7.     Pour the pudding mixture slowly over the batter in the 8” pan. If using ramekins, scoop a scant ¼  cup of the pudding  mixture over each of the filled ramekins. Place the ramekins on a parchment-lined baking sheet.

Ready to bake

8.     Bake for 25-28 minutes for either size, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake on top comes out clean. Remove from the oven and serve warm.

Baked - best served warm

Christmas in a Bowl

The house was ready, most of the food was in slow cookers, and the family was coming. Our house was filled with cousins, good visiting, and tasty dishes last Sunday for an early Christmas gathering. In spite of the bitter cold weather, we had 5 families of relatives to share the warmth.

This recipe for a Christmas salad has several flavors of the season that combine for "Christmas in A Bowl". I did all the chopping prep the day before and combined the greens and chopped ingredients early in the morning before church. Definitely one we'll make again.

Pomegranate Christmas Salad

Dressing:

2 Tbsp apple cider vinegar

1 Tbsp pure maple syrup

½  tsp sea salt

¼ tsp black pepper

⅛ tsp turmeric

½ tsp orange zest (grated orange peel)

Combine in a jar and shake to combine. Set aside.

Salad:

Mixed greens (about 6 cups), cut into strips or bite size pieces

⅓ cup pomegranate seeds

¾ cup red seedless grapes, halved

2 mandarin oranges (peeled and sliced)

½ cup chopped pecans

2 Tbsp dried cranberries

1 apple (chopped)

Place in a large bowl and add dressing. Toss to combine.

You can serve the salad immediately or chill in the refrigerator for up to 12 hours.

Cranberry Upside Down Cake

When I look for holiday recipes, the cranberry recipes always catch my eye. These tart berries are a natural part of the holiday season. Cranberries are one food that is native the North American and were first used by Native Americans for food and medicine. In history they have been called 'cranberries' (for the shape of the plant which looks like a crane's head) and bearberries (because bears also like them!).
This upside down cake from the Wichita Eagle is going to be one of our favorites for future seasons.

CRANBERRY UPSIDE DOWN CAKE

 

For topping:

4 tablespoons (½ stick) unsalted butter

½ cup brown sugar

1 bag (12 oz) fresh cranberries

¼ cup fresh orange juice

for batter:

1 ½ cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

¼ teaspoon salt

8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 cup sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 eggs, separated

½ cup milk

¼ teaspoon cream of tartar

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

To prepare topping: Put butter and brown sugar in a 9-inch round cake pan, and put it in the oven. As the sugar dissolves, stir to distribute the mixture evenly over the pan. When the sugar starts to caramelize, remove pan from the oven and allow to cool.

In a small bowl, combine cranberries and orange juice. Toss to coat berries well. Spread berries evenly in pan, and sprinkle with any juice remaining in bowl. Set pan aside, and prepare the cake batter.

To prepare batter: In a large mixing bowl, sift together flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.

Using an electric mixer, cream butter with sugar until pale, light and fluffy, Add vanilla and beat in egg yolks one at a time, scraping bowl once or twice. Add flour mixture alternately with milk, ending with dry ingredients. Set batter aside.

Whisk egg whites with cream of tartar just until whites are stiff enough to hold a slight peak. Fold whites into batter ⅓ at time. Spoon batter into prepared pan, and spread it evenly over cranberries. Bake until top is browned and cake pulls away slightly from edges of pan, 25-35 minutes. (Be sure to use a cake tester to make sure it’s completely baked). Let cake cook for 15 minutes before turning onto a cake plate. Serve with whipped cream or ice cream.

 

Butter and brown sugar to caramelize in pan.

Top with cranberry/orange juice mixture

Blend batter and whipped egg whites.

Spread in pan over cranberries.

Baked!

Holiday Snack Mix - 2nd generation

Little hands like to help

In the Kansas 4-H cookbook "Essence of Kansas - Taste 2",  my daughter, then a very young 4-Her, submitted a simple recipe for young cooks. Yesterday her daughter and I made the snack mix. Here's a simple and quick combo that can also help teach measuring and stirring skills for aspiring chefs.
They can even make it for teacher gifts.

Holiday Snack Mix

3 cups cinnamon toast-flavored cereal

2 cups chocolate bear-shaped graham snacks

2 cups peanuts

1 1/2 cups red and green candy-coated chocolate pieces

Combine cereal, graham snacks, peanuts and candy in large bowl, stirring to mix. Store in a tightly covered container.